Big Ten Media Days Coverage on BTN and ESPNU

By NU Athletic Communications

| 07/25/2014

Rosemont, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced today that BTN and ESPNU will continue to broadcast coverage of the opening session of the 2014 Big Ten Football Media Days on Monday, July 28. The 43rd Annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, and BTN will air a Kickoff Luncheon Special on Wednesday, July 30. Both events will be held at the Hilton Chicago.

A trio of Nebraska football players will represent the Huskers at Big Ten Media days. I-back Ameer Abdullah, wide receiver Kenny Bell and safety Corey Cooper will be in Chicago on July 28-29.

BTN will present more than five hours of live coverage of Big Ten Football Media Days on Monday, airing the opening media session for all 14 coaches, BTN President Mark Silverman, College Football Playoff Chief Operating Officer Michael Kelly and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. Gerry DiNardo and Rick Pizzo will host the network’s live coverage beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT on BTN and BTN2Go. Fans can also track the day’s activities by following BTN.com’s Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) and Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) on Twitter. BTN will re-air the press conferences beginning at 6 p.m. CT on Monday night.

For the ninth consecutive year, the opening session of Big Ten Football Media Days will appear on an ESPN network. ESPNU will present up to six hours of coverage, with all 14 head coaches’ press conferences televised live or tape-delayed between Noon-3 p.m. CT on both Monday and Tuesday. In addition, Kelly and Delany will appear either live or tape-delayed as they address the assembled media. Select Big Ten coaches and players will also appear live on other ESPN shows and platforms, including SportsCenter and College Football Live in addition to ESPNU’s Media Days.

The 2014 Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon presented by Allstate and BMW will take place on Tuesday at the Hilton Chicago and BTN will air a Kickoff Luncheon Special at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday, July 30. Beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday, fans in attendance will take part in an autograph session with all 14 head coaches and one former player from each school, while current players will take part in brief, live interviews highlighted by questions from fans on-site and through social media channels. The luncheon itself begins at 11:30 a.m. CT.

A limited number of tickets remain available for $110 per seat or $1,100 per table (10 seats). Contact Josh Munk at the Big Ten office at 847-696-1010, ext. 105, or jmunk@bigten.org to purchase tickets.

For over four decades, the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon has featured some of the biggest names in college football. Legendary players like Desmond Howard, Eddie George, Ron Dayne and Drew Brees, as well as storied coaches like Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Duffy Daugherty and Hayden Fry, have all attended this historic event. In all, more than 850 of the conference’s finest players, over 60 head coaches and nearly 50,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedules.